A nurse is preparing to teach a forgetful older adult patient about a multiple drug regimen to follow after discharge from the hospital. To help promote adherence, what will the nurse do?

Question

a. Ask the patient to share the teaching with a neighbor or friend soon after discharge.
b. Give the patient detailed written informa-tion about each drug.
c. Cluster medication administration times as much as possible.
d. Make sure the patient understands the ac-tions and side effects of each drug.

Answer 1

C
Unintentional nonadherence often is the result of confusion and forgetfulness. Grouping medica-tions to reduce the number of medication times per day can simplify the regimen and help the patient remember medication times. Enlisting a neighbor, relative, or friend is a good idea, but this person should be included in the teaching. Asking the patient to share what is learned may not be a reasonable expectation of a forgetful patient. Detailed written information may just be more confusing; verbal and written information should be clear and concise. Making sure the patient understands the actions and side effects of medications helps when intentional nonadhe-rence is an issue, but in this case it may just add to the patient's confusion.